DUBAI: The 14 feet and six inches that the ball had to travel before dropping into the cup may well have been a mile. For Rory McIlroy, that putt to win at the $9 million Hero Dubai Desert Classic came with an enormous weight on his shoulders. Once it disappeared. the ghosts that have demonized him for a while, have been buried too.
On the game this week and that second shot on the 18th, he said, "I really feel like I haven't had my best all week but I just managed my game so well and played really smart. Even that second shot at the last there, you know, I was in two minds. I probably could have got to the green but seeing what happened yesterday and what happened last year, giving myself a wedge to try to get up-and-down to try to get the win. I definitely feel like there's tons of room forimprovement but it's a great start to the year."
